High school is a stage in a student’s life when their parents are statistically more likely to invest in a private education. It may be because parents feel this will maximise academic potential and set students up for a more successful tertiary education. There may be the desire to reinforce religious beliefs. In some cases the child may have a specific interest or talent that a particular school can nurture and further develop better than others. As with their primary schooling, the child may have special needs that need to be catered for through appropriate facilities or specially-trained staff. Some private schools offer boarding facilities, be it for weekdays (with the student going home for the weekends) or the full term (the student only going home for the holidays). Reasons for boarding a student range from simple practicality – such as being preferable to having the child return to an unsupervised home, or living too far away from the private school - through to wanting to instill a sense of independence in the child. Then there are single-sex schools. There are various arguments about whether these are beneficial. The research results from countless studies varies from simply being as good as any other private school, through to some students performing better than their counterparts who are in a co-educational environment. Adding yet another option to be seriously considered if it’s available near you, there are some independent schools that offer a hybrid between single-sex and co-education. These particular schools will separate boys from girls in all, or almost all, subjects some years (particularly the middle years when they’re roughly between the ages of 10 to 15), and also have separate classes for the core subjects in their senior years. The students will likely be mixed for the first few years of their formal education (most of primary), and they can also mix at any age on the school grounds. These hybrids aim to offer the best of both types, giving their students the social skills they need in real life to mix with and communicate with both genders, but to also focus more on their academic achievement in the classroom. These hybrids are a relatively new option for parents, and in many cases have actually been born out of necessity for the school. One principal cited the need for adding more students to the roll in order to offer a greater range of subjects, and the only way for them to do that was open up their all-girls school to boys. There’s a lot for you to consider given the amazing range of choice offered to students these days.

The many high school options available

Choices: Different high schools can cater to a range of needs and preferences for students, including religion, disability, boarding, and either partially or completely segregating the sexes from one another.

High school is a stage in a student’s life when their parents are statistically more likely to invest in a private education.

It may be because parents feel this will maximise academic potential and set students up for a more successful tertiary education.

There may be the desire to reinforce religious beliefs.

In some cases the child may have a specific interest or talent that a particular school can nurture and further develop better than others.

As with their primary schooling, the child may have special needs that need to be catered for through appropriate facilities or specially-trained staff.

Some private schools offer boarding facilities, be it for weekdays (with the student going home for the weekends) or the full term (the student only going home for the holidays).

Reasons for boarding a student range from simple practicality – such as being preferable to having the child return to an unsupervised home, or living too far away from the private school - through to wanting to instill a sense of independence in the child.

Then there are single-sex schools. There are various arguments about whether these are beneficial.

The research results from countless studies varies from simply being as good as any other private school, through to some students performing better than their counterparts who are in a co-educational environment.

Adding yet another option to be seriously considered if it’s available near you, there are some independent schools that offer a hybrid between single-sex and co-education.

These particular schools will separate boys from girls in all, or almost all, subjects some years (particularly the middle years when they’re roughly between the ages of 10 to 15), and also have separate classes for the core subjects in their senior years.

The students will likely be mixed for the first few years of their formal education (most of primary), and they can also mix at any age on the school grounds.

These hybrids aim to offer the best of both types, giving their students the social skills they need in real life to mix with and communicate with both genders, but to also focus more on their academic achievement in the classroom.

These hybrids are a relatively new option for parents, and in many cases have actually been born out of necessity for the school.

One principal cited the need for adding more students to the roll in order to offer a greater range of subjects, and the only way for them to do that was open up their all-girls school to boys.

There’s a lot for you to consider given the amazing range of choice offered to students these days.